I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4175 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for 

conservation expenditures to reduce groundwater consumption. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2015 

Mr. CRAWFORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a 

deduction for conservation expenditures to reduce 

groundwater consumption. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Groundwater Con5 servation Incentive Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN GROUNDWATER CONSUMPTION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 175 of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘or for the 

9 reduction of groundwater consumption,’’ after ‘‘land used 


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1 in farming,’’ both places it occurs in subsections (a) and 

2 (c)(1). 

3 (b) EXPENDITURES.—Section 175(c)(1) of such Code 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and ponds,’’ in the first sen6 tence and inserting ‘‘reservoirs, impoundments, 

7 ponds, tail-water recovery systems and other water 

8 retention or water control structures,’’, and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘Such term shall include ex10 penditures paid or incurred for the purpose of’’ in 

11 the second sentence and inserting ‘‘Such term shall 

12 include expenditures paid or incurred for the reduc13 tion of ground water use and the conversion from 

14 ground water use to surface water use. Such term 

15 shall also include expenditures paid or incurred for 

16 the purpose of’’. 

17 (c) LIMITATION RELATING TO CONSERVATION

18 PLAN.—Section 175(c)(3)(A) of such Code is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

20 striking ‘‘soil conservation plan’’ and inserting ‘‘soil 

21 or water conservation plan or practice’’, 

22 (2) in clause (i)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘the plan’’ and all that fol24 lows through ‘‘Agriculture or the’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘a plan (if any) approved by the Natural ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Dec 05, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4175.IH H4175

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1 sources Conservation Service of the Department 

2 of Agriculture or a’’, and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘taxpayer’s’’ before 

4 ‘‘land’’, 

5 (3) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(ii) a soil or water conservation plan 

7 of a comparable State or local agency, or’’, 

8 and 

9 (4) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i) and 

10 inserting after clause (ii) the following: 

11 ‘‘(iii) any conservation practice ap12 proved in the Field Office Technical Guide 

13 of the Natural Resources Conservation 

14 Service for the State in which the tax15 payer’s land is located if the purpose for 

16 such practice is consistent with one of the 

17 purposes identified in subsection (a).’’. 

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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